B.C. wildfire evacuee admits to setting hotel room fire

Prosecutors are seeking a long-term offender designation for a wildfire evacuee who admitted in court on Thursday to setting a fire in his Kamloops hotel room this summer.

Shane Dalton Dennis, 30, pleaded guilty to an arson charge stemming from a July 28 incident at the Sandman Inn at Columbia Street and Sixth Avenue downtown.

At the time, police said Dennis was an evacuee from Williams Lake staying at the hotel. He was arrested after throwing items in his room, overturning a fridge and setting items on fire. The hotel’s sprinklers doused the blaze.

Dennis has been in custody since his arrest.

In Kamloops provincial court on Thursday, Crown prosecutor Frank Caputo said he is pursuing a long-term offender designation for Dennis, a tag applied to dangerous criminals who are likely to reoffend.

Long-term offenders are supervised in the community for up to 10 years after their release from prison.

Caputo said the designation could take some time.

“In order to go ahead on that process, I need approval from my supervisors,” he said.

Provincial court Judge Stella Frame ordered Dennis to undergo psychiatric testing while in custody. A report would then be prepared to be used at sentencing.